(no subject)
This post is because of Facebook. Apparently, I am the last person among my core group that isn't on Facebook that isn't a total technophobe. Sure, I'll create what likely will be an infrequently updated Facebook page, but, I wondered, what about LJ? I should at least make an attempt to keep it alive, right? So here I am, on my lunch break, typing away and vowing to try to not be a stranger around these parts (or Facebook, when that happens...)
I'm certainly not what you'd call a technophobe. It's just that after working at a computer all day, I'm rather anxious and don't want to sit in front of a monitor all night as well. Especially when I gots cooking to do. Yes, I have become a cooking fanatic.
During the day, I find my thoughts turning to what I'll cook that night... debating whether I cook slowly tonight or see how many things I can cook in 20 minutes (usually doesn't turn out as well, honestly)... planning trips to the grocery store to see how I can fit everything into my little budget... experimenting with recipes to fit into the wallet or personal taste of me or Himself... I'm now cooking a few meals for my dad and grandma because dad wants to eat healthier but hates to cook... Hell, I'm voraciously consuming food blogs now...
Here was the agenda for last night:
*Seared steak with vegetable barley risotto
*French bread with a touch of flax seed meal (my addition)
*Red lentil soup with hot pepper and lemon (just to have handy for quick meals/snacks)
I have chickpeas soaking on the stove, and I've cooked some rice ahead so tonight I can make a modified French peasant vegetable gratin dish that's bound with eggs and rice. I'll be making some kind of chicken to go with it. Haven't decided what yet.
It's strange that I've become so enthralled with cooking. I never really considered myself a cook growing up. Then, when I was about 16, my mom taught me the recipe her mother taught her - turkey soup with an unexpected dose of curry. I looked forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas because I'd get all the leftover dark meat and bones for the soup. Now that I'm a more practiced cook, and a better soup maker, I'm planning a few tweaks next holiday season.
It would be easy to say I like to cook because it's healthier and saves money. Anyone who knows me knows the fear of not having money drives most of what I do. (I've been without money, and I don't want it to happen again.) I'm one of those people that stands in the store comparing the per unit price of an item and doing the math with my coupon to see if I'm actually getting a deal. (I could be a contestant on The Price is Right.)
With my family history of health problems, I also gave up high-fructose corn syrup and fast food (with the occasional and/or unavoidable exceptions) and wanted to cook simple, tasty things for myself -- I'd at least have a better idea of what they were made of.
But mostly, I love the process of taking all these elements -- bloody raw meat, peeled and diced vegetables, dried herbs -- and with the right application of heat, watching them transform into something else, something edible and useful, something that will make you feel better.
My technique is slowly improving. I'm learning how to not overcook meat and not get distracted and burn the onions when I'm sauteing them. I'm not a great cook, but I do enjoy it. I write notes on my recipes when I alter it. It's not unusual for me to come home from work, walk through the door, go directly to the kitchen and get to work without pausing or changing my clothes.
And Himself has said, without prompting, that he thinks I'm good at what I do. It's nice to have an audience for your work ^_^
I'm certainly not what you'd call a technophobe. It's just that after working at a computer all day, I'm rather anxious and don't want to sit in front of a monitor all night as well. Especially when I gots cooking to do. Yes, I have become a cooking fanatic.
During the day, I find my thoughts turning to what I'll cook that night... debating whether I cook slowly tonight or see how many things I can cook in 20 minutes (usually doesn't turn out as well, honestly)... planning trips to the grocery store to see how I can fit everything into my little budget... experimenting with recipes to fit into the wallet or personal taste of me or Himself... I'm now cooking a few meals for my dad and grandma because dad wants to eat healthier but hates to cook... Hell, I'm voraciously consuming food blogs now...
Here was the agenda for last night:
*Seared steak with vegetable barley risotto
*French bread with a touch of flax seed meal (my addition)
*Red lentil soup with hot pepper and lemon (just to have handy for quick meals/snacks)
I have chickpeas soaking on the stove, and I've cooked some rice ahead so tonight I can make a modified French peasant vegetable gratin dish that's bound with eggs and rice. I'll be making some kind of chicken to go with it. Haven't decided what yet.
It's strange that I've become so enthralled with cooking. I never really considered myself a cook growing up. Then, when I was about 16, my mom taught me the recipe her mother taught her - turkey soup with an unexpected dose of curry. I looked forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas because I'd get all the leftover dark meat and bones for the soup. Now that I'm a more practiced cook, and a better soup maker, I'm planning a few tweaks next holiday season.
It would be easy to say I like to cook because it's healthier and saves money. Anyone who knows me knows the fear of not having money drives most of what I do. (I've been without money, and I don't want it to happen again.) I'm one of those people that stands in the store comparing the per unit price of an item and doing the math with my coupon to see if I'm actually getting a deal. (I could be a contestant on The Price is Right.)
With my family history of health problems, I also gave up high-fructose corn syrup and fast food (with the occasional and/or unavoidable exceptions) and wanted to cook simple, tasty things for myself -- I'd at least have a better idea of what they were made of.
But mostly, I love the process of taking all these elements -- bloody raw meat, peeled and diced vegetables, dried herbs -- and with the right application of heat, watching them transform into something else, something edible and useful, something that will make you feel better.
My technique is slowly improving. I'm learning how to not overcook meat and not get distracted and burn the onions when I'm sauteing them. I'm not a great cook, but I do enjoy it. I write notes on my recipes when I alter it. It's not unusual for me to come home from work, walk through the door, go directly to the kitchen and get to work without pausing or changing my clothes.
And Himself has said, without prompting, that he thinks I'm good at what I do. It's nice to have an audience for your work ^_^